Living in Florida, air conditioning is essential. Keeping your AC units running and functioning well is critical. We have our condensers serviced regularly but haven’t had our units, ducts, and vents cleaned in a few years. When we got an opportunity to have it done at a good price and they would clean our dryer vents for free, I jumped on the deal.
The appointment was for yesterday, so of course, they kept pushing it and pushing it, and eventually had to cancel the appointment and reschedule for this morning. When the technician arrived, I greeted him at the door and was shocked as he reached up to touch my mezuzah and kiss it. I asked if he was Jewish, and after he said, “of course,” I told him I thought so because nobody else would kiss the mezuzah. He smiled, and I pointed out all the mezuzahs on my doors.
It turns out he was born and raised in Israel and has struggled to find Jewish people and community since moving to Central Florida. He commented on how he rarely sees mezuzahs on doors here. We talked about Israel – he is from Rehovot, and I have had the pleasure of spending time in Rehovot. I have friends who live there. It’s where the Weizmann Institute is and where I have gone to pick fruits and vegetables for the last two years. We talked about places like Rishon Lezion, which is right next to Rehovot. I could tell how much it meant to him to have somebody to talk to about Israel with.
As he began work on my units, ducts, and vents, I went to my office to work. During a break, we continued our conversation. He told me how excited he was to see that I had siddurim (prayer books) on my bookshelves and that he saw my tallit bag, my tefillin, kiddush cups, Shabbat candlesticks, Hanukkah menorahs, and my Israeli art on the wall of my office. Being at my house and talking with me clearly filled a Jewish need he may not have even realized he needed.
We talked about convincing my younger son to go on Birthright and visit Israel. The look he gave my son was precious, and as they talked, I hoped he inspired my son to finally sign up. This random person who came to service my air conditioning is a ‘member of the tribe,’ so our connection went deep even though we didn’t know each other until he knocked on my door and kissed my mezuzah.
I offered to help connect him with the local Jewish community. It is something he has struggled to find. He talked about wanting to engage in Jewish learning and be part of the community. I gave him my contact info (he had it in the company records, but this was for him personally). I hope he will reach out, and I can help him find his place.
Earlier today, I was talking with a friend of mine who lives in New Jersey. He was talking about how bad it has gotten in New York and New Jersey and how he removed his mezuzah from his door after October 7th due to the rise of antisemitism. How he doesn’t have any signs of being Jewish on his house or anywhere else because he fears for his safety. I told him how I’m just the opposite. I have a huge mezuzah on my front door and others on my three other external doors. I have my clearly Jewish and Israeli tattoos. I even have the Florida Stands With Israel license plate on my car. What an incredible difference simply because of where we live in the United States.
I began thinking about what would have happened had I taken down my mezuzah or never put one up. This Israeli would never have known it was a Jewish house. We never would have talked about Israel and Judaism. He wouldn’t have felt the power of being Jewish in my house by seeing all the Jewish items I proudly display. He would have missed out on the joy that it provided him. I would have missed out on knowing him and connecting.
This is why we need to be proud to be Jewish. We need to show our pride publicly. We can’t be afraid because when we are afraid and hide our Jewishness, the Jew haters win. They want to get rid of us; they want to make us invisible. They want us to be quiet and let them terrorize us. I refuse. I urge you to refuse. Be like the actor Patricia Heaton, who is not Jewish. She was so upset at the Jew hatred and that Jews were removing their mezuzahs from their doors that she, a Christian, put one up on her door and encouraged allies to do the same. Thousands of non-Jews who are allies went ahead and put a mezuzah on their door to stand with us. If they can do it, so can we. For thousands of years, Jew haters have tried to erase us: Babylonia, Persia, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Turks, the Poles, the Germans. We wouldn’t let them, so we survived. Now is not the time for us to do it to ourselves.
I’m proud to be Jewish and don’t hide it. Today reminded me why this is so important. I look forward to hearing from my new Jewish, Israeli friend and helping him find his way in a challenging Central Florida Jewish community. I won’t hide my Jewish identity or my Jewish pride. I encourage you not to hide yours either. Am Yisrael Chai!
